The 10 Nastiest Pitches From Thursday

Every morning, the We Love Baseball crew reviews the Nastiest Pitches from the previous day’s games in glorious high-definition GIFs. We want to bring you the highest caliber of nastiness possible, so if you see a nasty pitch, please tell us about it. You can tweet @PitcherList to let us know and we’ll give you a shout-out here in the article if your tip makes the cut.

As a bonus for PL+ members, let us know about a pitch on the PL+ Discord in the Nasty Pitches Channel, and if your suggestion is included the next day, you’ll be entered into a weekly drawing for a free T-shirt!

 

Alex Reyes‘ Slider

 

https://gfycat.com/impeccablefearlessdolphin

 

Alex Reyes has managed to hold down the Cardinals’ closer role despite a high walk rate that forces him to work out of trouble seemingly every time he’s on the mound. The problem for Reyes was that he wasn’t missing enough bats to justify the walks, and the worry was his BABIP luck would eventually run out. Reyes has started missing more bats in his last few appearances, and while he allowed another two baserunners last night, he struck out the side to cement a 1-0 pitcher’s duel win against a division rival. The sky is the limit for Reyes and he will go as far as his ability to throw strikes will take him. Reyes threw slider after slider in the upper-eighties last night, and the Brewers’ hitters could neither lay off nor touch the nastiness. (h/t to PL+ member baseballstuff24).

 

Rich Hill’s Curveball

 

https://gfycat.com/boldlamegrunion

Rich Hill in St. Petersburg seems like a great match of pitcher and team as Rich Hill looked as dominant as he ever has to blank the Yankees last night. Hill mixed in multiple arm angles and versions of his curveball to confuse and befuddle the Yankees and help the Rays avoid the sweep. It’s not easy to make one of the best contact hitters in the majors, D.J. LeMahieu, look this foolish. (h/t to PL+ member Burial).

 

Corbin Burnes‘ Cutter

 

https://gfycat.com/querulousforthrighthackee

 

Corbin Burnes finally walked a batter last night, but I think he’ll be more annoyed he didn’t get better run support in a tough-luck loss. Burnes was outmatched slightly by Jack Flaherty. My favorite Burnes pitch is his cutter that gets great lateral movement that takes it off hitters’ bats in low to mid-nineties. That’s two nights in a row Paul DeJong has been victimized in a Nastiest Pitches GIF.

 

Deolis Guerra’s Curveball

 

https://gfycat.com/acrobaticbluedouglasfirbarkbeetle

 

Deolis Guerra is not a name I was familiar with before last night, but he is certainly on my radar now. Guerra’s curveball reminds me of Tejay Antone’s curveball from yesterday’s Nastiest Pitches. Antone’s curve has more lateral movement, but both have a devastating break to induce swings and misses.

 

Zach Eflin’s Sinker

 

https://gfycat.com/waryclearallensbigearedbat

 

Zach Eflin was on my radar during draft season in March after I saw his devastating sinker in action this Spring Training. Eflin has actually had the sinker for a while, but the rest of his repertoire has now risen to the level of his sinker led by a more effective slider/cutter. Eflin doesn’t have to dial the sinker up to 95MPH against Patrick Corbin, which allows for more movement. The pitch is placed perfectly as well.

 

Patrick Corbin’s Slider

 

https://gfycat.com/freshraggedantelopegroundsquirrel

 

Patrick Corbin is now in year two of his six-year contract and he looks every bit the ace he was before he signed the deal. As a Yankees fan, it’s hard not to watch Corbin throws sliders like this one to Bryce Harper and wonder if the Yankees would have another championship if ownership had shelled out for Corbin. Corbin threw all sliders to Harper because the pitch is good enough on its own to get almost any lefty hitter out.

 

Jameson Taillon’s Curveball

 

https://gfycat.com/realisticpleasantcapeghostfrog

 

Taillon had a rough outing as the Rays offense awakened from the long slumber of winter and got some big hits in RISP opportunities. This season, even the starts when Taillon has allowed hard contact he has managed to miss bats. Taillon got most of Ks last night missing bats up in the zone with his fastball. Taillon spotted his money pitch, the curveball, perfectly on the outside corner down and froze Kevan Smith.

 

Logan Gilbert’s Slider

 

https://gfycat.com/defensivesneakyblackfly

 

Logan Gilbert’s debut with Mariners was a mixed bag. Gilbert showed the swing and miss stuff that has earned him a high prospect ranking, but also allowed a home run to superstar José Ramirez and had runners on base each of his four innings. Gilbert can hang his hat on his ability to miss bats with sliders like this one to Franmil Reyes. (h/t to PL+ member nvita).

 

Génesis Cabrera’s Four-Seam Fastball

 

https://gfycat.com/veneratedfrightenedfirecrest

 

Génesis Cabrera is another pitcher who was not on my fantasy radar who I’m now keenly aware of after watching some of his appearance last night. Cabrera must have the trust of Cardinals manager Mike Shildt to be given the eighth inning up one run. Cabrera showed why he has Shildt’s trust with pitches like this four-seamer on the outside black that froze Daniel Vogelbach.

 

Mike Foltynewicz’s Slider

 

https://gfycat.com/immenselazyiberianmidwifetoad

 

Mike Foltynewicz’s departure from the Atlanta organization seemed to be driven more by their wealth of starting pitching than Foltynewicz’s demise. Foltynewicz will have every opportunity to prove he can reach the potential of his early action in the majors. Sliders like this one to Aledmys Dîaz that are commended well with sweeping lateral movement will help Folty hold down a spot in the rotation, though eleven home runs in 40 innings pitch won’t help his cause. (h/t to PL+ member Ben Bingham).

 

 

Featured image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns of Twitter)